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The plaintiffs were Chen Guanglu and his wife, Chen Changping. They were summoned into the court hall, followed shortly by the arrival of Jiang Sanlang, escorted by a government official.

Upon noticing this, Chunniang hurriedly followed, cradling their daughter in her arms.

Song Wenyu had already submitted the complaint to the county scribe and also followed, carried by his father in a bamboo chair.

Yingbao looked over at her father. Seeing that he hadn’t been tortured, she gave a sigh of relief.

However, upon seeing the county magistrate Cao Can presiding on the courtroom dais, her heart once again filled with dread.

As Chen Guanglu’s superior, who also regarded him with high esteem, Yingbao found it hard to believe that Cao Can would be impartial in this matter.

Cao Can pounded the gavel and commanded, “The accused, state your name!”

“This humble one is Jiang Sanlang, greetings to the official,” Jiang Sanlang responded with a bow of respect.

“Chen Changping and his wife, Chen Guanglu, allege that you had intentionally assaulted them. Do you plead guilty?”

“I do not!”

“Hah! With both witness testimony and hard evidence against you, yet you still refuse to admit your crimes. Are you provoking this official to administer corporal punishment?” demanded Cao Can.

Jiang Sanlang retorted, “How could I admit to something I didn’t do?”

Chen Guanglu sneered, “You didn’t do it? Fine, I remember stabbing your shoulder. Why don’t you show the official your shoulder wound?”

Turning his head, Jiang Sanlang countered, “Didn’t you see it last night, Captain Chen? You even had someone jab my shoulder with a wooden stick. I now realize you merely intended to fabricate false evidence.”

The scar on his shoulder had long vanished, rubbed away with fine particles of gold that they owned, leaving only a faint trace barely noticeable.

He had heard his daughter mention once that her birthmark had been rubbed away with gold, so he decided to give it a try. Amazingly, the scar disappeared.

However, on the previous night, Chen Guanglu had two men forcibly strip him to inspect his shoulder. Seeing no scar, Chen Guanglu unexpectedly had someone jab a wooden stick into his shoulder, creating a flesh wound.

“Nonsense!” Chen Guanglu bellowed, “You audacious commoner, how dare you

slanaer me government m court! ”

“Whether it’s slander or not will be clear once we take a closer look, ” interjected Song Wenyu. “Jiang Sanlang, why not show your shoulder to the official?”

Song Wenyu had not yet had the chance to communicate with Jiang Sanlang and was not aware of the injury on his shoulder. However, he believed that this calm-faced man was telling the truth.

Unconcerned about the presence of women in court, Jiang Sanlang removed his shirt to reveal his badly injured shoulder.

Seeing this, Chunniang cried aloud, tears streaming down her face.

Yingbao was furious and deeply concerned about her father. She wanted to use Wudingzhi to treat him, but knew it was not the right time.

Song Wenyu stepped forward to examine the wound, clicking his tongue, “This is clearly a fresh wound. Captain Chen, did you really have this man injured?”

“Nonsense!” An enraged Chen Guanglu responded, “And who might you be, daring to slander the headman in court?”

Song Wenyu pulled out a piece of paper from his sleeve, “I have been enlisted by the Jiang family to exonerate Jiang Sanlang and seek justice for him. My petition has been submitted, and this is my letter of representation. If Captain Chen believes that he’s been slandered, then let the medical examiner inspect Jiang Sanlang’s wound, to determine whether it is a fresh wound inflicted by a wooden stick, or an old injury from over a month ago.”

Chen Guanglu’s face darkened.

Last night, he did indeed have Jiang Sanlang jabbed, partly to vent his frustration, but more importantly, to manufacture evidence that could be used in his favor when Cao Can arrived. He had not expected that Jiang’s family would hire a lawyer to defend them.

With this lawyer’s arrival, many things were bound to surface. After all, the newly appointed county magistrate wasn’t a pushover. The entire case would be scrutinized in detail. Should any oversight or mistakes occur, Cao Can would also be held accountable.

County Magistrate Cao Can did not anticipate Chen Guanglu would resort to such measures. Now, even if he wanted to show partiality, he dared not do so blatantly.

Banging the gavel, he commanded, “Bring in the medical examiner to assess the injury!”

Shortly thereafter, the medical examiner arrived to assess Jiang Sanlang’s wounds.

After the examination, he reported, “Official Cao, this man has a fresh wound from a blunt instrument, the skin and flesh have turned outwards. It appears to be an injury caused by a bamboo arrow or wooden stick.”

Upon hearing this, Cao Can’s brows furrowed. He dismissed the medical examiner and turned to Chen Guanglu, “What do you have to say about this?” He really wished the fool knew when to hold his tongue.

Chen Guanglu flatly denied it, “I didn’t do it.’

Song Wenyu immediately stepped forward, “Official Cao, why not summon the jail keeper on duty last night for questioning? Then we can determine whether Captain Chen did or did not go to the county jail. Besides, there were other prisoners in the jail, too. We could ask them as well.”

If Chen Guanglu wanted to keep his actions hidden, he would have had to bribe all the jail keepers and all the prisoners at the county jail.

If he was incapable of doing so, then his underhand dealings would not remain hidden. Not everyone would be willing to do Chen Guanglu’s bidding.

Cao Can didn’t want this case to involve too many people. Avoiding Song

Wenyu’s question, he instead turned to Jiang Sanlang and asked, “Defendant Jiang Sanlang, since you claim to be innocent, do you have any witnesses to support your defense?”

Jiang Sanlang asked, “What kind of witness does the official require?”

“One that can prove you were not present at the scene on the day of the incident.”

“I do. After the court adjourned that day, I left the city with my family and returned to the work site by the river that same night. My family can testify to this, as can my coworkers.”

He had foreseen this day and had already asked several coworkers from his village to vouch for him. He was unafraid of the government’s inquiries.

The matriarch of the Han family stepped forward. “You’re lying! The criminal who broke into the Chen residence that day had his face covered, but his physique was unmistakable. It was you, Jiang Sanlang. Official, you must serve us justice.”

Song Wenyu interjected, “That is merely your own conjecture, and all based on speculation. If you truly believed that Jiang Sanlang was the perpetrator, why didn’t you apprehend him on the spot? There are several of you in the Chen household. Jiang Sanlang doesn’t have three heads and six arms, nor is he a martial arts expert. How could he fight four to five people on his own?”

“We were not together at the time. My husband and I were peacefully at home when suddenly, a man barged in and started attacking us…” The matriarch of the Han family feigned grievance, “My husband and I barely had time to react.”

Chen Guanglu added, “Indeed, his strength is astonishing. Ordinary people stand no chance against him.”

“Yes, he kept punching my face and head. We didn’t have the strength to fight back.” echoed Chen Changping.

Song Wenyu smirked, then turned to ask Chen Guanglu, “It’s understandable if Chen Changping couldn’t hold his own; being a mild-mannered scholar, he isn’t accustomed to fighting. However, Captain Chen, you’re one of the best fighters in the county office. Why couldn’t you overpower a peasant like him? Are you implying that Jiang Sanlang possesses some kind of martial arts skills, or that he had help?”

Chen Guanglu’s expression darkened.

He was indeed no match for Jiang Sanlang. Even pulling out a dagger offered him no defense against the man’s fists.

Even though he had stabbed the man with his dagger, Jiang Sanlang reacted as if he felt no pain, and had retaliated by kicking him in the leg, breaking his shin bone.

His leg was essentially ruined now. He estimated that this would result in the loss of his headman position. His humiliation and anger were immeasurable.

Without his position as headman, who would fear him?

In the past, he incurred many grudges on behalf of Cao Can. Once abandoned by Cao Can, Chen Guanglu believed his life would be perpetually in danger.

“Of course he had help!” In his confusion, Chen Guanglu blurted out, “That day, he and his two brothers were the ones who committed the crime!”

It was common knowledge that the Jiang family had three brothers, so it was not impossible that they had committed the crime together.

Given the circumstances, it would not have been unreasonable for him not to have seen the other culprits since his head was covered in a sack at the time..